HDD switch for Multi OS

Posted 20 February 2013 - 10:36 AM

Bucheron

InsanelyMac Protégé

Members

1 posts

Hi,

I got a fully Hackintosh running and its working like a charm. I ordered some new HDD to expand the capacity and while expanding I would like to review my Hackintosh setup with the following, I did some research but couldn't find any real info, I would like to make a switch on the case that lets me decide which OS will boot up.

Is it possible to make a switch between the power and the HDD, if in position 1 only the two HDD of OSX will be able to boot and if in position 2 only the HDD of WIN will get power and they are able to boot.

Posted 20 February 2013 - 01:18 PM

3.14r2

The Round One

Members

1,333 posts

Location:Molvania

Why would you want this?

It is possible and in fact can be easily done (if you have soldering skills). You would need a 3 positions toggle switch (6 contacts), two Y shaped Molex to SATA adapters/spliters, a Molex to Molex adapter spliter (1 to 2) and few wires.

It would switch +5V supply (which is used to power the controller circuit of HDD, while +12v are used to power the spindle motor; the above is valid for 3.5' HDD - 2.5' HDDs use +5V for both; SSDs use the same +5V only) from PSU to either group of HDDs. I would recommend to use such a switch prior to powering up a PC. Let me know if you need a schematics on how to do this.